A Part of Me by Anouska Knight Read Free Book Online Page B

it.’
    Good. Work was good. I could feel myself relaxing. ‘Where are we at with it?’
    ‘He’s emailed over a few photos, and a set of AutoCAD plans that the previous architects drew up. He’s bringing everything else he’s got into the office this morning.’ Yes. This was what I needed. ‘Right then, I think we’re done here. Phil’ll get you up to speed.’
    And like that, equilibrium resumed in Adrian’s company.
    Phil was getting one of the architects up to speed on her drawings when I made it out of Adrian’s office. I began picking over the papers on her desk. ‘Hannah? Have you seen anything for a Mr Bywater? There should be a file?’
    Hannah looked sheepishly over her shoulder at me. I sighed quietly. ‘Hannah, this morning’s awkward enough. I know how the jungle drums work around here, don’t worry about it, okay?’ Hannah nodded as I took a cursory glance back down the studio.
    ‘She’s not in today,’ Hannah whispered. ‘I heard Dana telling Marcy that Sadie phoned in sick again.’
    A slap of papers hit the end of the desk. ‘Rohan Bywater. Has Adrian talked you through it, or was he too busy checking the balance of his applecart?’ Phil stood leaning with one hand flat on the desk, the other on her hip. ‘He’s due in this morning, you want me to do the meet-and-greet or—’
    ‘No, I’ve got it.’
    Phil straightened up. ‘Is anyone booked into the boardroom? I could talk you through the file, more room to spread out.’
    Adrian thudded from his office, shoving balled fists through the sleeves of his jacket. ‘Site meeting. I’m on the mobile,’ he declared, clumping out of the studio.
    ‘I’ll get the coffees,’ Phil said, following Adrian out as far as the kitchen. Phil had suggested the boardroom for privacy, not space. I gathered the file and walked through into the boardroom, fighting off the images of James’s naked groin in each of the chairs there. To distract myself, I laid out the photos of the Bywater property on the conference table. I still had my snout in the paperwork when the boardroom door clicked closed.
    ‘I’ve been leaving you messages,’ he said, placing the drinks he’d hijacked from Phil down on the long glass table. ‘I’ve been going crazy, Amy. Please, let me talk.’
    He wasn’t supposed to be here. Funnily enough, that was what I’d thought the last time I’d seen him.
    ‘I can’t say anything in my defence, I know, but … it was a stupid mistake. A stupid, one-off mistake.’
    ‘One-off?’ I croaked. ‘You expect me to believe that?’ I choked on my words, an instant trembling firing up in my chest. Already, the conversation wasn’t going as I’d imagined it.
    ‘It was never meant to happen, I wish it never had. Please believe me, Amy, I love you. I need to make this right with you. Mum’s so excited about flying in—’
    ‘Forget the party, James!’ I yelped.
    His expression changed. The blue of his eyes growing cooler. ‘So what? That’s
it
now? Just like that? You’re going to throw everything away?
Everything
, Amy?’
    My head began to thump.
Me
throw it away? ‘You slept with another woman! You watched me go out, like a big idiot, celebrating our plans, and you –
what
? Bumped into her here? It was you she was on the phone to, wasn’t it?’ The thumping was intensifying.
    James’s voice lowered. ‘I only agreed to meet her because she was going to tell you. She was going to do as much damage as she could. I couldn’t let that happen.’ I’d played this conversation through my head all week. Pointless preparation. ‘I swear, it had only been one time … I told her it was a mistake, and then—’
    ‘And then what?’ I snapped. ‘You met her to call it all off?’
    ‘Yes!’ James exclaimed, circumnavigating the table.
    ‘And what? You accidentally fell into her?’
    James darted towards me. I stepped back to accommodate it. ‘Amy, shit! I know what I’ve done is as bad as it gets, but
please
!